Sustainability

Fall Cover CropsWill you have bare fields this fall?How you care for your land this fall will play a large role in determining the quality of your crop next year. Cover crops are one of the best ways to prepare your fields for future crops. There are many benefits of cover cropping; these are just a few:

Weed ControlCover crops can greatly decrease the amount of weeds in spring by crowding out the undesirable plants as they compete for light, nutrients, moisture and space.

Soil ConservationOne of the most common reasons land owners plant cover crops is to provide protection for the soil from erosion by wind and rain. Preventing the loss of topsoil is crucial for future crop health.

Improved Soil QualityCover crops increase soil organic matter, replacing much of what is lost during crop production. This results in improved soil structure. Soil organic matter is also one of the main components of the soil that holds onto plant nutrients. Future crops in your field will survive drought and stress better with the improved soil conditions.

Nitrogen FixationThe legume cover crops have special adaptations to let them obtain their own nitrogen from forms that are unavailable to all other plants. This nitrogen will then be available to your crops when the cover crop biomass breaks down after being tilled in.

There are several types of cover crop seed available. Contact us to find out which type would be suitable for you.

Pest Exclusion

Floating Row Covers in Organic ProductionProducers of organic crops have very few options in insect pest control. Growers of conventional crops can fall back on pesticide sprays, but not many organic pest control chemicals are available and registered. One effective non-chemical option for organic producers is insect exclusion using floating row covers. Although quite expensive, careful handling to avoid damage can extend the life of the material to two or even three years to reduce the cost per year. We still have one size left in stock in Abbotsford. Call and ask at the Sales Desk today for more information.

Boxes, Flats and Baskets

Produce Packaging for Fresh Market SalesBlueberry Boxes: For fresh market sales of blueberries, we stock sturdy corrugated boxes in two sizes: 5 lbs or 10 lbs of fruit. Our boxes have attractive blue and green graphics, with stacking tabs and good ventilation.

Berry Flats: White with c o l o r f u l red, blue and green graphics of berries on

the sides, these flats are perfect for fresh market berry sales. These flats will hold twelve of the pressed green fibre pints or four of the rectangle #1 ½ size. Talk about versatility!

Baskets and Trays:We have a wide choice of green pressed fiber berry baskets, including #5, #3, #1.5, quart and pint.

Farm GateOrganic Grower Newsletter

TerraLink Horticulture Inc.June 2010The

Pest Control

Spotted Wing Drosophila Fruit Fly – A New PestAlthough several articles have been written about Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) and a presentation was made on it at the LMHIA Short Course in January, we’re going to repeat the information here again. It won’t hurt to hear it all again, this has to be understood – this new pest could be very damaging and difficult to control. SWD (Drosophila suzukii) is native to Southeast Asia, preferring warm temperatures and therefore going through many more life cycles per year than the fruit fly we are all familiar with. Unlike our regular fruit fly which only infests fallen, over-ripe or decaying fruit, SWD lays eggs in harvestable fruit while still on the bush. While the regular fruit fly is only annoying, SWD will cause crop loss. No one wants to bite into a blueberry and find a maggot in it. All types of berry crops are subject to infestation.

Because the adult flies are quite small and look similar to other fruit fly species, the only way to confirm the presence of SWD will be to take captive adult flies, or fruit that is possibly infested, to the BCMAL Plant Diagnostic Laboratory in Abbotsford. In the Okanagan, another contact is Susanna Acheampong, Entomologist at BCMAL at the Kelowna office. For those with good eyes and in possession of a magnifying glass, the photos below show the distinguishing features of SWD adults

Much work has been done by government so far, and plans are set to develop surveillance and management plans to determine when SWD first appears in the spring and in which crops. At this time, control methods and products for SWD have not been finalized. For organic producers, the industry has already received emergency registration for Entrust 80 W, a spinosad product that is OMRI listed, valid until October 31st.

To find out more about SWD, call BCMAL in Abbotsford or Kelowna or visit their web page at http://www.al.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/swd.htm, or call the Sales Desk at TerraLink, 1-800-661-4559 or 604-864-9044.

Photos from Dr. Sheila Fitzpatrick, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada at Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Agassiz.

Weed Control

Need to Control Weeds? Get Yourself a Dragon! In fact, why don’t you get yourself a Red Dragon? The method of using flame to control weeds has been used for about a century, and Flame Engineering has been in business for about half that time. This very experienced and established company offers its Red Dragon flame

products through Gro-tec, the equipment division of TerraLink Horticulture. Red Dragon flamers are available in large tractor-mounted devices all the way down to light, hand-held convenience-sized torch kits.

The use of flaming is well documented in major crops such as potatoes, silage and sweet corn, cole crops, onions, tree fruits, grapes, blueberries and cane fruits.

Flaming subjects weeds to intense heat over a very short period of time, stripping the waxy coating on the leaves and bursting plant cells. The weeds are usually dead within one day. It is a fast way to solve you weed control problems in an organic production setting, and we have supplied many flamers to many satisfied customers since becoming distributors in 2006. Stop draggin’ your feet. Get yourself a Red Dragon.

TerraLink Horticulture Inc., 464 Riverside Road, Abbotsford, BC, V2S 7M1 Toll Free: 1-800-661-4559 Tel: 604-864-9044 Fax: 604-864-8418 www.tlhort.comLet us direct You to a dealer near You.

Figure 1. Spotted Wing Drosophila Adult Female. Inset shows ovipositor.

Figure 2. Spotted Wing Drosophila Adult Male with wing spots

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Non-Pesticide AlternativesTerralink Horticulture offers a wide variety of biological pest controls. As more communities and municipalities implement bans on cosmetic pesticide use, biocontrols are becoming more relevant in combating common pests associated with turf, ornamentals and home flower and vegetable gardens. The days when we can simply reach in the cupboard for “the spray” when we have insect problems will soon be gone; a new approach to pest control is required.

Terralink Horticulture purchases biological control agents produced by the largest, most respected and innovative Insectary world-wide: Koppert Biological Systems in Berkel en Rodenrijs, The Netherlands.Unlike chemical pest controls, which usually work

within hours or a few days, biological control takes a bit more patience and timing because they are living organisms. Pesticides have been proven to repel and/or kill native predators and parasitoids (tiny wasps that lay their egg(s) in or on the host) so you have to keep on a beneficial release program, usually every one to two weeks. As well, improper or overuse of pesticides leads to the development of pesticide resistance. Biological controls on the other hand, usually only require 2 or 3 “releases” in and around the infested area. Again, patience is required, as it can take 2 – 4 weeks for the biological controls to become established. Once the natural and insectary-reared insects become established in the infested area(s), nothing more is required other than a once weekly inspection of the infested areas to assess the biological / pest populations. The occasional supplemental release should be considered to enhance the biocontrol population. Unlike chemicals, pests cannot develop resistance to biological controls.

Terralink supplies biological controls for:Agriculture, Greenhouse and OrnamentalsAphids•

Mites•

Thrips•

Caterpillars•

Whitefly•

Mealybug•

Scale•

Leaf miner•

Turf and LandscapeGrub•

Leatherjacket•

Weevil•

For Grub control in Turf and lawns, Terralink supplies the nematodes Heterorhabitis bacteriophora, Steinernema feltiae and Steinernema carpocapsae. These species of nematodes do not attack any part of a plant. Instead, when applied in a drench, they actively search out European Chafer Beetle and leather jacket grubs (Crane Flies) in turf and the Black Vine Weevil larvae in ornamental plantings. Grubs of these pests feed on the roots of grasses and plants. Feeding damage includes loss of vigour to the plant as well as opening wounds that allow the entrance of fungal and bacterial pathogens. European Chafer infestations usually result in secondary damage caused by crows and raccoons digging up patches of lawn in search of the rather robust grubs that can grow up to 2.5 cm in size.

Contact Terralink’s Biological Specialist Cody Cruise for more information.

Biological ControlsProduct Guide2010

How to order Biological Controls (Beneficials) from TerraLink:TerraLink orders beneficials every Thursday for delivery on the following Tuesday (except stat holidays). Order cut-off time is 12 PM (noon) Thursday.

Fly parasite orders are placed every other Thursday for delivery the following Wednesday.

Contact Cody for all your biological orders and assistance on how to chose the solutions right for you.

cody@tlhort.com or 1-800-661-4559

TerraLink Horticulture Inc.464 Riverside Road, Abbotsford, BC, V2S 7M1 Toll Free: 1-800-661-4559 Tel: 604-864-9044 Fax: 604-864-8418 www.tlhort.com

TerraLink’sBiological Controls Product Guide

Request a copy from lisa@tlhort.com, or pick one up in our Abbotsford location.